Sunday, February 07, 2016

Electricity outage

8am - The electric power here in the Town of Panajachel is out again. There is a possibility that the many power outages that have happened since my arrival here are due to the howling wind.

Of course when there is no electric power, there is no WiFi, because WiFi gets transmitted by an electrically powered modem owned by my hotel.

However, I am getting online by using the WiFi coming thru my iPhone's Personal Hotspot. That's what gives me the ability to annouce:

Good morning, Panajachel!

Still no electric power
2pm - I just returned to my hotel room. Walked and walked! 4,612 steps so far. And I am a bit tired!

This post is being made courtesy of AT&T and my iPhone. As I mentioned before, there is no WiFi without electricity.

Light!
3:15pm - The light in my hotel room was on when I awoke from napping. That could only mean one thing. Electricity has been restored to the Town of Panjachel!

Stories and pics
Here are stories and pics of things that I found very interesting during my walk in Panajachel today.

Kids selling nuts
Earning a living selling stuff is a way of life in Guatemala. Kids are taught early on about their responsibility.

During my walk down Avenida Santander [busiest street in town], I came upon a young girl and her younger brother. Each had a wheelbarrow containing different kinds of nuts for sale. Each nut had its own square container/box.

I offered to buy 10Q [$1.30US] worth of pistachio nuts. The girl carefully put the nuts in a small, clear plastic bag. I indicated that I wanted more nuts. So she put a few more pistachios in the bag. I paid with a 10Q bill.

Right away I came to the conclusion that I had been overcharged for the pistachios. Because just this morning I received a full breakfast [2-eggs, English muffin, country potatoes, bacon and coffee] for 20Q.

But I talked prices over with several people who live in Panajachel, and they told me that the girl charged the right price for the pistachios. The restaurant, these people informed, gave you a big bargain!

Live and learn!

10Q worth of pistachios

Lake Atitlan
Continuing my walk down Avenida Santander, I realized that I was walking towards Lake Atitlan. Of course, this is the end of that road.

The lake is really lovely. I believe that my iPhone takes good pics.

Lake Atitlan from the end of Avenida Santander

Young fruit seller
Selling cut up fruit is extremely popular in Guatemala. I sat down on a low stone wall right next to a cut-fruit stand. This fruit stand was doing an outstanding amount of business. The location was great! Lots of customers walking by.

A young girl was running the stand. She managed her job of selling, cutting fruit and collecting money in a business like manner. As a former restaurant owner myself, I clearly recognized the talent in this young girl.

A customer paid for her purchase with a large bill. The young girl fruit seller did not have change. She took the customer's large bill, handed it to her younger brother, and instructed him to get the bill changed.

In about five minutes her brother returned and informed that he could not get the bill changed. Very calmly, and with a quiet voice, the young girl fruit seller instructed her brother to get the job done!

Soon, her brother did return. He had broken the large bill. The girl handed the balance change to her brother, and pointed out the customer waiting for that change.

A young woman came up to the fruit stand. Her face resembled the girl cutting fruit. I asked if she were the sister of the young girl fruit seller? "No", she replied. "That is my daughter." "How old is she", I asked. "She has 12 years", mom replied.

"Your daughter is a very good worker and also a responsible person", I told the mom. She thanked me, with a big smile.